Scherzer Wins AL Cy Young; Darvish Second
ARLINGTON (CBSDFW.COM/AP) - After leading the major leagues with 21 wins, Max Scherzer of the Detroit Tigers easily topped Yu Darvish for the AL Cy Young Award announced on Wednesday.
Scherzer lost only three times and was the lone 20-game winner in baseball. He ranked second in the majors with 240 strikeouts and was fifth in the AL with a 2.90 ERA.
Scherzer drew 28 of the 30 first-place votes in balloting by members of the Baseball Writers' Association of America. Darvish was named on 29 of 30 ballots, receiving 19 second place votes, three third place votes, one fourth place vote, and six fifth place votes.
Darvish's second place finish was the highest finish by a Japanese-born pitcher. It also matches the highest finish ever by a Rangers pitcher. Starter Ferguson Jenkins was the runner-up to Oakland's Catfish Hunter in 1974.
Hisashi Iwakuma of the Seattle Mariners came in third.
"It was an honor to be a finalist for the American League Cy Young Award. Both Max Scherzer and Hisashi Iwakuma had tremendous seasons. Max is a very deserving winner," said Darvish from Japan. "I would like to thank my teammates, the entire Texas Rangers organization, and most of all, the fans, for their on-going support. I look forward to the 2014 season and helping my team to achieve our goal: to bring a World Series championship to Texas."
The Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw, who attended Highland Park High School, won the NL Cy Young.
The 29-year-old Scherzer won his first 13 decisions of the season and was the American League starter in the All-Star game.
Scherzer helped pitch the Tigers to their third straight AL Central title. He was joined in a deep rotation by Justin Verlander, the 2011 AL Cy Young Award winner, Anibal Sanchez and Doug Fister.
Scherzer went 16-7 last year, then added a curveball to an impressive repertoire that already included a hard fastball, slider and changeup.
Voting for the award was done before the playoffs began. Scherzer twice beat Oakland in the AL division series, then went 0-1 in two starts against Boston in the AL championship series -- he was pulled both times with the Tigers ahead.
Scherzer is distinctive for more than just his record. His eyes are different colors, with the right blue and left brown.
Darvish led the majors with 277 strikeouts and went 13-9 with a 2.83 ERA. The Japanese-born Iwakuma was 14-6 with a 2.66 ERA and 185 strikeouts for the Mariners.
(©2013 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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